Improvement in apparatus for wiring picket-fences



, M. PARKS.

pparatus for No.14`f,968.

iring Picket-Fences.

Patented Feb. 24.1874.V

jfl-filial f//W NITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES MADISON PARKS, OF RAINEYS CREEK, TEXAS.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FORWIRING PlCKET-FENCES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 147,968, dated February24, 1874; application file September 13, 1873.

To all whom it may concer-n Be it known that I, JAMEs M. PARKS, ofRaineys Oreck, ih the county of Ooryell'and State of Texas, haveinvented a new7 and valuable Improvement in firing Picket-Fences and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the construction and operation of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings making a part of this specification,and to the'letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawings is a representation of a vertical section of myimprovement in devices for wiring' picket-fences. Fig. 2 is a top view'of same.

This invention relates to that class of build ing apparatus in which amovable anchor or weight is used as a wire-stretcher in advance of thework, and is designed to furnish means of a very simple character forholding the wires tight and at a given height while applying the picketsand their posts.

In the annexed drawing, .A represents a trench, whic-h is of properwidth and depth, and of any desired length, and in the center of whichpost-holes a are made, at proper distances apart to receive the posts Jwhich sustain the pickets J B is a carriage. It'oonsists of two `wheels,b Z1, onv an axle, c, a drafttongue, b1., secured between the axle and abar, @'a guide, a, which rises from the tongue b1, and keeps thetwowiresh h separated and in proper line with the posts J, a stake, b2, whichenters the bottom of the trench A, a-nd holds the carriage B in itsproper place astride the trench, and a standard, d, which is adjustablysecured tov the axle and bar c', and between whose upper ends, on aroller, e, the two wires h h pass. Standard el is vertically adjustablewhen pins d, which hold it in place, are removed. D represents a drag,which is coin-v posed of a large log` D, trimmed to lie in the trench A,and provided with a clevis, g, and four diverging legs, g, carrying ontheir upA per ends four transporting-wheels, i.

The first post J is set into the ground very securely, and braced in anyconvenient manner. The carriage B is then moved astride the trench andnear the post, and the wires h h are passed around it at a properheight, thence through the forked end of the adjustable standard d, andon opposite sides of the vertical guide n. From this guide the wires arecarried along the trench any required distance, and secured to theclevis g at the front end of the drag D. This drag D is held in place soas to keep the wires under proper tension by loading it down with logs,which are placed between the diverging legs g', like logs ou a saw-buck.The carriage B is then moved about fifteen feet from the rst post,keeping the standard d vertically over the trench, and the stake b2forced into the ground between the sides of the trench a sufficientdistance to prevent the carriage moving backward as the wire is taken upby the introduction of the pickets.

The man who sets the pickets should be on the right-hand side of thewire, facing forward, and on this side should also be the pickets. Theman who crosses the wires after'each insertion of a picket should standon the lefthand side of the wires, and, after crossing the same, shoulddraw them apart while the opposite man inserts the pickets. Then aposthole, a, is reached, a post is inserted therein, and the wires drawnaround a notch cut into it at the proper height, after .which this postis iirmly fixed into the ground, the carriage B is moved off a properdista-nce, a-nd the work proceeded with, as before` stated.

Then the fence is made to within about thirty or forty feet of the dragD, a post is fixed firmly into the ground in a hole, a, and two or threepickets are worked into the wire beyond it, when the wires lnay beloosened from the drag, and more wires hitched on to continue the work.The drag is then unloaded and turned over upon its wheels, when it canbe easily rolled to the point desired and again applied in the trench,as before described.

W'hat I claim as new, and des'ire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. An apparatus for the construction of wired picket-fences, consistingof the stand ard-guide d, guide a, and stake b2, applied to a carriage,B, as and for the purpose described.

2. The reversible drag l), with its legs g', rollers i, and clevis g,as' and for the purposes described.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereimto subscribed my namein the presence oi' two witnesses.

J AMES MADISON PARKS.

Vtnesses:

J. T. MANei-IAM,

JAs. H. WARD.

